<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
<title>Insert title here</title>
</head>
<body>
Bana's next project was the low-budget Australian film The Nugget
(2002). A comedy, the film portrays the effect of instant wealth on
three working class men and was released with moderate success in
Australia. Bana read the script after filming Chopper in 2000 and was
drawn to it because it reminded him of his childhood and because he
found its characters amusing and likable.[14] While filming The Nugget,
Bana was offered the lead role of Bruce Banner in the film adaptation of
the popular comic book series The Incredible Hulk. Only after learning
of director Ang Lee's involvement in the project did he consider the
role.[13] Bana admired Lee for his work on the film The Ice Storm and
agreed to work on the film before the final script was complete.[15] He
said he was drawn to the film because "the character of Bruce Banner had
dramatic potential" and was "a fairly non-traditional superhero".[15]
Hulk (2003) received mixed reviews and a moderate success at the box
office, but Bana's performance was praised: Jack Matthews of the New
York Daily News felt that Bana played the role of Bruce Banner "with
great conviction".[16] Bana earned an Academy of Science Fiction,
Fantasy & Horror Films nomination for "Cinescape Genre Face of the
Future" for the film.[17] In 2004, Bana co-starred with Brad Pitt in the
big-budget film Troy. In the film, he played Prince Hector, leader of
the Trojan forces battling against the Greek warrior Achilles. Director
Wolfgang Petersen offered him a role in the film after meeting with Brad
Pitt, a fan of Chopper.[18] The film was an international success,
grossing US$364 million. In North America however, it earned
considerably less, grossing less than US$133 million.[19]

</body>
</html>